Vitamin D May Lower Heart Attack Risk

Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston studied hundreds of men over a 10-year period to examine the role of vitamin D in heart health.

At the beginning of the study, participants submitted a blood sample to test for vitamin D levels. The men had no history of heart disease, had experienced a heart attack at some point or died of heart disease during the course of the study.

After tracking participants and looking at the blood work, researchers found that men who were vitamin D deficient had a 109 percent higher risk of experiencing a heart attack than those who had sufficient levels, after considering other risk factors like smoking.

Vitamin D is commonly found in fortified milk and fatty fish like salmon. The body also produces vitamin D when skin is exposed to sunlight. This study could explain why heart attack rates rise in the winter.

This latest information about vitamin D adds to a growing body of research that the nutrient may have multiple health benefits. It could also protect against diseases like colon and breast cancer, peripheral artery disease, tuberculosis and type 1 diabetes.

Dr. Edward Giovannucci, author of the study about the effects of vitamin D on heart health, said many people have vitamin deficiencies. In the case of vitamin D, Giovannucci noted that physicians are most often concerned with how it helps bones, but added that “chronically low levels of vitamin D” could be responsible for “subtle physiological changes in a lot of tissues” in the body.

Findings from Giovannucci’s study aren’t viewed as conclusive proof that vitamin D will lessen heart attack risks, but “it is considered by some medical researchers as strong circumstantial evidence of a connection.” A clinical trial would be necessary to search for more definitive proof.

Another study about the benefits of vitamin D suggests that the nutrient could help prevent type 1 diabetes in children. Researchers have found that people living at or near the equator have a lower rate of diabetes than those living in higher latitudes where there is less sunlight.

The American Heart Association wants doctors to give children electrocardiograms before prescribing drugs to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The association is concerned about detecting heart problems that could lead to sudden cardiac death.

MedlinePlus offers a helpful page that discusses the function of vitamin D in the body, lists foods containing vitamin D and explains the potential side effects of having too much or too little vitamin D in your system.